Norridgewock, Maine

Norridgewock
Norridgewock Free Public Liebrary
Location in Maine
Norridgewock
Basic data
Foundation :	June 18, 1788
State :	United States
State :	Maine
County :	Somerset County
Coordinates :	44 ° 44 ′  N , 69 ° 49 ′  W Coordinates: 44 ° 44 ′  N , 69 ° 49 ′  W
Time zone :	Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Residents :	3,367 (as of 2010)
Population density :	26 inhabitants per km 2
Area :	132.63 km 2  (approx. 51 mi 2 ) of which 129.37 km 2  (approx. 50 mi 2 ) is land
Height :	64 m
Postal code :	04957
Area code :	+1 207
FIPS :	23-49800
GNIS ID :	0579026
Website :	www.townofnorridgewock.com
Eaton School, Norridgewock

Norridgewock is a town in Somerset County in the state of Maine in the United States . In 2010 there lived 3367 inhabitants in 1520 households on an area of ​​132.63 km². Norridgewock was once the seat of the Sagamore of the Eastern Abenaki ; the name comes from the Abenaki language and means calm waters .

geography

According to the United States Census Bureau , Norridgewock has a total area of ​​132.63 km², of which 129.37 km² is land and 3.26 km² consists of water .

Geographical location

Norridgewock is located in southwest Somerset County, on an arch of the Kennebec River . In the center of Norridgewock, the Mill Stream flows into the Kennebec River. The area of ​​the town is bounded in the northwest by the Sandy River . The surface is slightly hilly, the 182 m high Dodling Hill is the highest point.

Neighboring communities

All distances are given as straight lines between the official coordinates of the places from the 2010 census.

• North: Madison , 6.6 mi
• East: Skowhegan , 7.4 mi
• Southeast: Fairfield , 9.4 mi
• South: Smithfield , 6.4 mi
• Southwest: Mercer , 7.5 mi
• West: Starks , 6.6 mi

City structure

There are several settlement areas in Norridgewock : Norridgewock , North Norridgewock , Oak Hill , Oosoola , Powers , Sandy River, and South Norridgewock .

climate

The mean mean temperature in Norridgewock is between −9.4 ° C (15 ° F ) in January and 20.0 ° C (68 ° F) in July. This means that the place is around 9 degrees cooler than the long-term average in the USA. The snowfalls between October and May are up to two and a half meters, more than twice as high as the average snow depth in the USA; the daily sunshine duration is at the lower end of the range in the USA.

history

Around 1610 French Jesuits set up a mission station in the Abenaki village of Norridgewock. Here resided the Sagamore of the Kennebec or Norridgewock, a tribe of the Eastern Abenaki. Under the leadership of their Upper Sagamore Bashabe , the Kennebec formed a powerful alliance with the Penobscot and other Eastern Abenaki in the early 17th century, threatening their enemies, the Micmac on the other side of the bay. The enmity had existed for a long time, but was exacerbated by competition in the fur trade with the French.

The most famous of the French missionaries was Father Sébastien Rasles , who was transferred to Norridgewock in 1687. He built a small, neat chapel and lived in a hut in the middle of the dreaded Abenaki. He exerted a great influence on the Indians, who valued him as a benevolent man and a great preacher. Men like Sébastien Rasles became central figures in Abenaki history. The Abenaki soon gained a reputation among the British for being the most devout Catholics and among the most loyal Indian friends of New France .

After the first Indian War , the King Philip's War , the British colonists attributed all raids by this tribe to their settlements to the influence of Father Rasle. He acted as an advisor to the Indians in negotiations with the British, who sometimes even felt that they were being cheated. The colonists made repeated unsuccessful attempts to capture Rasles at Norridgewock. In 1723, when they tried again, they stole a cassette containing Rasle's manuscript of the Abenaki-French dictionary. The dictionary and other documents from that period are now kept in the Harvard University library.

The Abenaki village was about 5 km above today's Norridgewock Bridge at the confluence of the Sandy River with the Kennebec River. The bark huts of the Indians stood in two parallel rows in a north-south direction. A road about 60 m wide ran between the huts. At the north end was the church, while at the opposite end was the Chapel of the Virgin Mary, which was used on weekdays.

208 soldiers in 17 whale boats went up the Kennebec River in August 1724 and landed at the confluence of the Sebasticook River. From here they marched unobserved to Norridgewock, which they reached on August 24th. The skirmish that followed was short and bloody. 30 warriors were killed and 14 wounded, the rest of them fled with their families. Father Rasles was also killed and his body was scalped and mutilated. Eventually the church and huts were set on fire. The Abenaki moved to Wôlinak in Canada and never returned.

Norridgewock was a long way from anywhere else in New England and the area was not significantly populated over the next 50 years. In October 1775, General Benedict Arnold and his army crossed the area in the American Revolutionary War on his way to Québec. It wasn't until June 1788 that there were enough residents to found a city. After the formation of Somerset County in 1809, Norridgewock became a county seat and did not lose that status to Skowhegan until 1871. In 1849 the wooden, covered bridge was built over the Kennebec River. It is around 200 meters long and cost $ 11,000 at the time. It was renewed in 1929. From 1894 to 1903, the Skowhegan – Norridgewock tram operated , connecting the town with the county seat.

Population development

Census Results - Town of Norridgewock, Maine
year	1700	1710	1720	1730	1740	1750	1760	1770	1780	1790
Residents										333
year	1800	1810	1820	1830	1840	1850	1860	1870	1880	1890
Residents	633	880	1454	1710	1865	1848	714	1756	1491	1656
year	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990
Residents	1495	1608	1532	1481	1511	1784	1634	1964	2552	3105
year	2000	2010	2020	2030	2040	2050	2060	2070	2080	2090
Residents	3294	3367

Culture and sights

Buildings

In Norridgewock, several structures and an archaeological district have been listed and placed on the National Register of Historic Places .

• Norridgewock Archeological District , 1993 under registration no. 93000606.
• CF Douglas House , 1978 under the register no. 78000200.
• Eaton School , 1988 under registration no. 88000884.
• Sophie May House , 1976 under the register no. 76000114.
• Norridgewock Female Academy , 1996 under the registration no. 96000244.
• Norridgewock Free Public Library , 1982 under registration no. 82000780.
• Spaulding House , 1978 under the register no. 78000201.

Economy and Infrastructure

traffic

US Highway 2 , which is crossed by US Highway 201A, runs through Norridgewock . From this point Maine State Route 8 and Maine State Route 139 head south.

Public facilities

There are no hospitals or medical facilities in Norridgewock. The closest are in Skowhegan, Madison and Waterville.

The Norridgewock Public Library is located on Mercer Road.

education

Norridgewock is part of the RSU # 54 / MSAD # 54 School District with Canaan, Cornville, Mercer, Skowhegan, and Smithfield.

There are several schools in the school district:

• North Elementary School in Skowhegan, pre-kindergarten and kindergarten
• Canaan Elementary School in Canaan, with school classes from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade
• Mill Stream Elementary School in Norridgewock, with classes from pre-kindergarten through 6th grade
• Bloomfield Elementary School in Skowhegan, with classes 1 to 3
• Margaret Chase Smith School in Skowhegan, with grades 4 to 5
• Marti Stevens Learning Center in Skowhegan
• Skowhegan Area Middle School in Skowhegan, with grades 6 to 8
• Skowhegan Area High School in Skowhegan, with grades 9 to 12

All educational institutions that go beyond basic education are located in the surrounding communities. For example, the nearest college is in Fairfield .

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

• Cullen Sawtelle (1805-1887), politician
• Volney Howard (1809-1889), politician
• Stephen Lindsey (1828-1884), politician
• Rebecca Sophia Clarke (1833–1906), writer
• Minot Judson Savage (1841-1918), writer and theologian

Personalities who have worked on site

• Sébastien Rasles (1657–1724), missionary, lived with the Eastern Abenaki
• John S. Abbott (1807–1881), Maine Attorney General, his home is the Norridgewock Free Public Library

Web links

Commons : Norridgewock, Maine  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

• The community site (English)
• Norridgewock on maine.gov
• Norridgewock on City-data.com
• History of Norridgewock

Individual evidence

1. ^ Norridgewock in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System , accessed February 16, 2020
2. ↑ Maine 2010 Census Results ; official publication of the Census Authority, (English; PDF; 32.5 MB)
3. ↑ Dodling Hill. In: peakery.com. Retrieved February 16, 2020 . 
4. ↑ Coordinates of the locations of the Census Authority 2010
5. ^ Norridgewock, Somerset County - Maine Genealogy. In: mainegenealogy.net. Accessed February 16, 2020 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b} Norridgewock, Maine (ME 04957) profile: population, maps, real estate, averages, homes, statistics, relocation, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, moving, houses, news, sex offenders. In: city-data.com. www.city-data.com, accessed on February 16, 2020 . 
7. ↑ ^{a b} History of Norridgewock
8. ↑ Population 1790–2010 according to the census results
9. ↑ Norridgewock Archeological District 93000606
10. ↑ CF Douglas House 78000200
11. ↑ Eaton School 88000884
12. ↑ Sophie May House 76000114
13. ↑ Norridgewock Female Academy 96000244
14. ^ Norridgewock Free Public Library 82000780
15. ↑ Spaulding House 78000201
16. ^ Library. In: townofnorridgewock.com. Town of Norridgewock, Maine, accessed February 16, 2020 . 
17. ↑ Home - RSU / MSAD 54. In: msad54.org. Accessed February 16, 2020 .